A Ride of Faith
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: When Gloria gets an unexpected assignment from the Father, she learns that Humans aren't the only ones in need of an angel's help. R/R
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from TBAA

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from TBAA. They belong to CBS. Everyone you don't recognize, I do own.

Enjoy!

God loves you!

A/N: This story is very special to me. It's special to me because it's about one of my favorite animals, horses! I LOVE them! I want to dedicate this story to my best friend, Alex. She took me under her wing and taught me everythin' I know.

"A Ride of Faith"

Gloria smiled as she watched the scenery go by. She and Monica were Monica's car, heading for their next assignment.

Monica hadn't told Gloria anything about it yet and the youngest angel was becoming increasingly curious.

But before she opened her mouth to ask the thousand or so questions that were on her mind, Monica pulled up in front of a stable and parked the car.

"Here we are." She announced, turning to her case worker and best friend. "This is where your next assignment is."

Gloria nodded. She got out of the car and gazed around. The land was beautiful and it seemed to stretch for miles.

After gazing around at her new surroundings for a few minutes, Gloria turned her attention back to her supervisor.

"So who's my assignment?" She asked, eagerly.

"I'll show you. Come on." With that, Monica led Gloria up the path to a row of what looked to be stalls.

They stopped just beyond the first three stalls before Monica pointed to the fourth one from the right.

"She is." The Irish angel replied.

"A horse?"

Gloria glanced at the stall before her. Her innocent brown eyes were full of disbelief. She then gazed back at her supervisor, a questioning look on her face.

The Irish angel nodded, tryin' unsuccessfully to hold back a giggle.

"My assignment is a horse. Ba-but I Thought I was going to have an actual assignment. When did this happen?"

Monica gave Gloria a look she knew only too well.

"Gloria, this is an actual assignment. You will meet a few Humans along the way, but most of the time, you'll be workin' with her." With that, Monica pointed to the creature within.

Gloria was about to say somethin', when her brown eyes caught sight of the horse. For some reason, no matter how hard the youngest angel tried, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight.

As Gloria gazed into the horse's eyes, she felt her heart tug and she knew she was there for a reason.

Even though this assignment hadn't turned out like the youngest angel had expected, Gloria was determined to do her very best. She was going to treat it like any other assignment the Father had given her and see it through. And Besides, Gloria knew no matter what happened, her Heavenly Father knew best.

Just then, a woman with light brown hair and brown eyes approached the two angels. She looked friendly and wore a sincere welcoming smile on her face.

"Hello! You must be the new help we were expectin'. My name is Carly Smith. I'm one of the owners of this school and I own the stables as well. Welcome to Silver Crest Heights."

Gloria grinned and held out her hand. She still had her eyes on her latest assignment though.

"Hi. I'm Gloria." She said in her standard way.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Gloria." Carly replied. She then got a look at the stall Gloria was gazing at. She shook her head before frowning. "She just came in last night. Nobody's been able to get within ten inches of her. I'm afraid if someone doesn't gain her trust soon, we're gonna have to put her down."

Gloria shook her head. She couldn't let this happen. She now knew why the Father had sent her here.

"You mind if I give it a try?" Gloria asked. "I'm very good with animals. I'm also really good with people too."

Carly smiled.

"I can tell." She then turned her attention to Monica and gave her a smile. "Hi, I'm Carly."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Carly. I'm Monica. I have to get to another assignment, but I'll be back later." With that, she gave Gloria a hug, told her she loved her and left.

Once the Irish angel was gone, Carly turned her attention back to Gloria.

"So you and Monica work together?" She asked trying to strike up a conversation.

Gloria nodded.

"Yup. Monica's the best. She's really sweet and she hardly ever gets cross with me. We're really close."

"That's good."

"So do you mind if I give it a try?" Gloria ventured once again. "Maybe I can get her to trust me."

Carly hesitated slightly.

"I guess that would be okay. She hasn't trusted anyone for a long time. Her last owners treated her pretty badly. She doesn't even have a name."

"That's terrible!" Gloria exclaimed. "Would it be okay if I named her?"

"Be my guest." Carly replied. With that, she led Gloria over to the horse's stall.

Upon arriving, Carly gave Gloria some carrots and told her to be careful.

Gloria nodded. She had read about horse care a few weeks ago, so she was pretty versed in what to do.

Holding the carrot in the palm of her hand, the youngest angel held her hand flat, making sure her fingers were out of the way.

As the horse came forward, Gloria smiled at her gently.

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm Gloria. You're a pretty girl, aren't you? Do you want a treat?"

The horse was brown with a white mane and tail. Her face also had a streak of white going through it down the middle.

Her brown eyes surveyed Gloria suspiciously for a few minutes, not sure what to make of her at first.

"It's okay, girl. I won't hurt you. I know you've probably heard that so many times before and it was a lie. But I promise you, I won't hurt you. I'm different than most people."

The horse stood there as though she had really heard Gloria's words. She then did somethin' that totally took Gloria by surprise. She came forward slightly and nudged her right arm. She then cautiously took the carrot from Gloria's hand. She did it slowly, but she took the carrot nonetheless.

"That's amazing!" Carly breathed from just behind Gloria. "You really do have a way with animals. She hasn't done that for anyone else in the whole twenty four hours she's been here."

Gloria nodded. Her attention was focused mainly on the beautiful creature in front of her. She didn't understand why the horse had begun to trust her. What was so special about her? Then it hit Gloria like the first rays of sunshine on a hot summer's morning.

"You know what I really am, don't you?" Gloria whispered. "You're a smart girl, you know that?"

The horse made a noise as though she was agreeing with Gloria.

The youngest angel giggled.

"But we need to keep that bit of info between us until the time is right. Okay?"

Again, the horse made a sound that Gloria took as agreement.

"Good girl." She said, her voice full of nothing but love for the animal in front of her. "Good girl. Now that we have that out of the way, we need to name you."

But it seemed the harder Gloria thought, the more the name eluded her.

"You'll come up with one in time." Carly assured her. She had been watching the interaction between Gloria and the horse for the past half an hour and she liked what she saw.

Gloria nodded. She was about to reply, when she noticed Carly holding out what looked to be a whip in her hand.

"What's that?" Gloria asked, eyeing the object nervously.

"It's called a lunge whip." Carly explained. Then seeing the look of horror that flashed across Gloria's face, she hastened to explain further. "You don't hurt the horse with it, I promise. It's used to gain their trust."

Gloria nodded.

"You want to see if she'll "join up" with me?"

Carly smiled.

"Exactly." With that, she handed the whip to Gloria and went to work getting things ready.

Once one of the many round pens were cleared, Carly motioned Gloria over to it.

"I'm going to set our new friend up in here." She explained. "After I do so, I want you to use the lunge whip to make her go forward. Once you do that, she's going to run free in here for however long she wants."

Gloria nodded. She had read about "joining up" in the book she had bought.

"And once she's tired, she'll give me a signal that she's payin' attention to me. Once she's paying attention, I give her a choice to join up with me or not."

Carly smiled.

"That's right." She shook her head in amazement. "Wow, Gloria! You must be a Godsend."

Gloria smiled and winked at Carly, but said nothing. Monica had taught her well.

Once Carly had gotten the horse into the pen, she closed her in and the process began.

Taking a deep breath, Gloria cracked the whip on the ground gently, giving the horse the signal to go forward.

The horse obeyed, running around the pen at what Gloria recognized to be a canter.

Carly watched Gloria to make sure she was okay.

But it became apparent twenty minutes into the exercise that Gloria was fine.

Still, Carly wanted to see this for herself.

After forty-five minutes of running, the horse started showing signs of exhaustion.

After a quarter of an hour, she slowed down before giving Gloria the first signal.

When Gloria saw her flicker her ears forward, she smiled. The horse then lowered her head, giving Gloria the second signal she needed.

The youngest angel gently started to lower the whip before making her next move. She was being very cautious so that she wouldn't scare her new equine friend.

Once she was sure that the horse wasn't going to move from her current position, Gloria lowered the whip a little more before taking the final step.

It was then that the horse gave the youngest angel the third and final signal. She started making a chewing, opening and closing motion with her mouth.

Gloria smiled at this. She then caught Carly out of the corner of her eye. The young woman was mouthing the words, "Go slowly."

Gloria nodded in her direction before turning her attention back to the horse. She was still making the same motion, which brought a smile to the youngest angel's face.

Taking a deep breath, Gloria lowered the whip the rest of the way before making her final move. She slowly turned her back on the horse, giving her the choice of joining her or not.

Even though Gloria was showing no emotion on the outside, she was praying with all her heart that the horse would choose to join her. She wanted to help her so badly.

As if an answer to her prayer, Gloria turned around a few minutes later to find the horse a few feet behind her.

"Hey there, sweetie." Gloria greeted. "I'm so proud of you."

Carly grinned as well. She came over to Gloria and gave her an approving smile.

"I don't know how you did it, but you did. Now before you ride her, you should make sure she has fully joined up with you."

"How do you do that?" Gloria asked, not having read about that in the book.

Carly grinned.

"That part is easy. Just walk around a bit. If she follows you, you're good to go."

Gloria nodded.

"Okay!" With that, Gloria took her own tour of the place. She walked a few feet before gazing back to see if the horse was following her.

It took the horse a minute or so, but she slowly started following Gloria around.

Once she started, it was clear that she had made her final decision. She had decided to fully "join up" with the youngest angel, which made Gloria extremely happy.

"You should be very proud." Carly told her. She had come to check on her a few minutes later. "It looks like she's really joined up with you. She's never done that with any of us."

Gloria grinned.

"I think you're right. Is it okay if I name her?" She asked, wanting to get Carly's permission first.

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Great!"

Gloria spent the next half an hour trying to think of names for her new friend. It wasn't until Monica showed up to check on her, did Gloria come up with the perfect name.

She was telling Monica all about her bonding session with the horse, when the name came to her.

"I think she knows I'm an angel." Gloria told her supervisor, worriedly.

Monica gave her 'little one a reassuring look.

"Little one, it's okay. Animals can sense things like that. You're not in trouble. It's okay if she knows your true identity. It will help in the long run."

Gloria sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness. I thought I did something wrong."

Monica shook her head.

"Not at all. Besides, if you had made a HUGE mistake, Tess would be talkin' to you, not me."

"Speaking of Tess," Gloria said thoughtfully. "I almost named the horse after her."

"And why exactly, would you name this beautiful creature of God after me?" A familiar, wise voice asked from just inside the doorway.

Gloria blushed as her eyes landed on her superior. She turned her gaze upon Monica, asking her silently for help.

The Irish angel shook her head.

"Let's have it, little angel." Tess continued. "I'm interested to hear this one."

Gloria nodded.

"Because you're smart and so wise?"

Tess rolled her eyes, but both younger angels could see a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Nice try, Gloria." She gave her 'little angel a hug before hugging Monica.

After the hugs went around, Gloria turned her attention back to the horse.

"You're so beautiful. Yes you are. And I'm going to help you trust other people again. I promise. You don't have to worry about me hurting you because I never will. You're safe now, Angela. You're safe."

It was then that Gloria realized what she had just said. She smiled to herself as she repeated the name aloud.

"Angela. Angela Faith. That's perfect for you. What do you think, sweetheart?"

The horse, Angela, grunted in approval.

Gloria grinned.

"I like it too." She said. She then reached out slowly and patted Angela's mane before patting her nose. "I like it too."

Tess and Monica watched the interaction with pride. They knew Gloria was going to do just fine. Little did all three angels know what trouble the next few days would bring…


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the characters from TBAA. They belong to Martha Williamson. Anyone you don't recognize I do own. I also own the plot for this story.

God loves you

Enjoy!

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait! I hope this chapter makes up for it. The next one should be coming soon!

"A Ride of Faith"

Chapter 2

Gloria hurried up to the stable the next day. She could hear the sound of a commotion coming from Angela's stall and it didn't' sound good.

As Gloria got closer, she noticed the sounds weren't coming from the stall, but a little ways away from it.

"What happened!" She demanded of Carly in a concerned tone as she approached her new friend.

"I don't know." Carly replied helplessly. "She got loose and ended up running off somewhere. One of the girls said she found her a few miles away from here. But nobody can get her to come back."

"Okay." Gloria said, trying to stay calm. "I'll be right back. Give me a chance to bring her home."

Carly frowned.

"Gloria, no offense, but you've only been working here a day and a half. What makes you think you can tame her in that time? That would take a miracle."

"She joined up with me, right? That means Angela will more likely come with me than anyone else. And one other thing, I believe in miracles." With that, Gloria winked and left Carly standing there.

Getting to her destination, Gloria was so engrossed in her task, she didn't' notice Monica and Tess appear to the right of where she was now standing.

"Do you really think Gloria can do this, Tess?" Monica asked. She did have faith in her caseworker, but this was difficult.

Tess nodded.

"Yes I do, Ms. Wings. More importantly, God knows she can do it. Our little Gloria will be fine." With that, the angels watched the youngest member of their family try to work a miracle of her own.

Gloria approached Angela slowly. She didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was.

"Angela? Hi, sweetheart. How did you get all the way out here, huh?"

Angela turned at the sound of Gloria's voice. She thought about bolting, but something made her stay put.

"That's it." The young angel assured her. "Good girl. You're going to be okay. I'm here to take you back home."

As if Gloria said the wrong thing, Angela bolted forward, away from her.

Gloria was ready for this. She ran parallel to her friend, trying to keep up with her. She met her halfway and stood her ground. She held her hand out palm up. Inside was an apple. She prayed this would work.

Angela stopped at the sight of the treat in Gloria's hand. She slowed down and cautiously approached Gloria.

"That's it. That's my girl. Good girl. You're okay, Angela. I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise. I know it's hard to trust when you've been hurt. But like I told you yesterday, I'm not like everyone else. I'm different."

Angela stopped at this point. Her ears perked up as though she really heard Gloria's words.

It took her a few minutes, but she finally came close enough for Gloria to feed her the apple.

"All right. There you go. Now, what'd you say? After the snack, we take a nice ride together? I'll go easy, I promise. We'll take it nice and slow."

Angela grunted as she started eating the snack.

"I'll take that as a yes." Gloria affirmed. She reached up and gently patted the horse's nose affectionately.

After the snack was gone, Angela nudged Gloria's hand as though she were looking for more.

Gloria giggled despite the situation.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. There's no more. You ate it all. Okay, here we go…" With that, Gloria prepared to climb on Angela's back.

The angel kept her word. She took things slow and talked to Angela the whole time.

Once she was aboard, she grasped the horse's mane the way Monica had showed her during the few lessons she had given her.

As Gloria was about to give Angela the command to go, the horse started.

"Whoa!" Gloria exclaimed out of surprise. She lowered her voice to a soothing volume when she saw how it affected Angela. "Shh, it's okay, girl. It's all right. Gloria's not going to hurt you. I know you're afraid. And truth be told, I'm a little scared myself. So why don't we do this together? It won't be long. We're just gonna take a nice ride. How does that sound?"

Angela responded by tensing for a minute. She had never been ridden by anyone who didn't hurt her before.

Sensing this, Gloria tried to calm her down.

"It's okay, girl. It's all right. Why don't' we start by taking a few steps forward." She coaxed. With that, she gently gave Angela the command Monica had shown her.

Angela obeyed Gloria after a minute or so. She was nervous at first, but as they continued their ride, she became less and less tense.

Behind her, Tess and Monica smiled with pride. They were very proud of their little angel.

Gloria stopped Angela a mile or so from the stable. She wanted to make sure she was okay. She also noticed her friend was becoming thirsty.

Dismounting gently, Gloria led her to a creek and coaxed her to drink.

Angela did so.

When Gloria didn't' tell her to stop or get angry when she took her time, she relaxed even more.

The second mounting session was a little easier than the first.

Once Gloria gave Angela the command, she took off at a canter before easing into a contented pace for the both of them.

The ride was comfortable and Gloria didn't' feel like she was alone. She talked to Angela and reminded her often that she was safe and that she, Gloria, wouldn't hurt her.

By the time they returned to Silver Crest Heights, Angela was calmer than she had been since Gloria's arrival.

"You found her!" Carly cried in astonishment when she saw Gloria setting Angela back in her stall. "Ha-how did you do it?"

Gloria grinned.

"Trade secret. Actually, there isn't a secret to it. I just took it nice and slow with her and we reached an understanding. Right, Angela?"

Angela grunted softly and nuzzled Gloria's arm. She then nudged her open right palm.

Gloria laughed.

"I'll sneak you some of whatever Tess brings me for dinner tonight." With that, she reached up and patted the horse's mane as well as her nose.

Carly watched this interaction with an opened mouth. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had seen it all now.

Shaking her head in amazement, she told Gloria she would be back to check on them a little while later. She had to get Melanie ready for her lesson.

Waving good bye to her new Human friend, the youngest angel turned her attention to her equine one. She was proud of Angela for the progress she had made. She knew they still had a long way to go, but Angela was getting there. And as far as Gloria was concerned, it was enough for now.

Three hours later, as Gloria got ready to leave, Angela started to put up a fight. She started banging against her stall door and kicking her front hooves against the frame.

"Hey, hey, none of that now." Gloria gently scolded. "I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."

But it was no use. Angela kept up her mini fight until Gloria had no choice but to stay.

Gloria wasn't' mad at Angela in the least. She understood she was afraid.

"All right, girl. It's okay. Do you want me to stay?" She asked.

Angela had stopped banging as Gloria approached her. She stared at her new friend, her big brown eyes full of apprehension.

"You're not in trouble, sweetie." The angel told her. "I know you're scared. It's okay. Would you like me to stay?"

Angela responded by nuzzling Gloria's arm and making contented noises.

"I'll take that as a yes." Gloria observed. She let a little laugh escape her lips. With that, she sat down near Angela's stall and began her nightly vigil. She started talking to her friend and stroking her mane and nose.

It wasn't until an hour or so later that Tess showed up. She had a bag of food in her hand.

When Gloria saw her superior, she gave her a curious look.

"Tess, what are you doing here?"

Tess narrowed her eyes.

"No, hi Tess. No thank you for bringing me dinner?"

Gloria giggled and gave Tess a hug. She stood slowly and threw her arms around her superior. She was taking things slow so Angela wouldn't become afraid again.

"What's in the bag?" The little angel inquired.

"Tacos." Tess replied.

"Cool!"

As she unwrapped one, Angela made a noise before coming forward. She tried to sniff the hand that had the food in it, but Tess was faster.

"Don't you even think about it. I brought the food for Gloria. Not you. Go eat your hay or something."

Gloria frowned.

"Tess! Be nice. Besides, I told her I'd give her some of what you brought me." With that, she broke off a piece of the food and held it in the palm of her hand. "Come on, Angela. Come and get it. See? I have a treat for you."

Angela came forward a minute or so later. She sniffed the food before taking it from Gloria's hand.

"Good girl! There you go. And after that, I'll give you another apple."

Tess made a face.

"The way you're feeding her, little angel, we'll have to see if Jenny Craig has a branch for horses."

Gloria couldn't help it this time. She burst out giggling.

Once Gloria was done her dinner, she broke an apple in half. She gave Angela her half before eating her own.

After their snack was gone, Angela settled down for the night. She kept one eye on Gloria to make sure she didn't' go far.

As for Gloria, she settled down with a blanket Carly had given her and laid her head in Tess's lap.

Tess combed her fingers through the youngest angel's hair lovingly.

As the elder angel started to sing to try and help Angela stay calm, she glanced down a few minutes into the song to find Gloria fast asleep.

Smiling to herself, Tess kissed her little angel's cheek and put a hand through her hair.

"I love you, little angel. I'm really proud of you." With that, Tess prepared herself for a long night. She didn't' mind though. She loved Gloria more than anything and she would hold her any time of the day or night.


End file.
